Prior to rainfall over the weekend on May 3, there were questions about planting in fields with limited soil moisture. Last weekend and during this past week, rainfall occurred across a significant portion of the state. But certainly not everywhere. If soils are very dry, and you are not able to plant deep enough to reach adequate moisture, this early in the season my recommendation is to hold off planting. We still have several weeks remaining to be in the window for optimum yields based on planting dates. Of course, a lot has changed in some fields since the weekend of May 3. If you have moisture, keep planting.

One concern with limited moisture is that seeds might begin the germination process but not complete it. So if your fields are dry and you don't have the moisture to get a stand, my recommendation is to wait for a rain. The seed is better off in the bag than in dry, hot soil. Of course, if we were having the discussion in early June, my recommendation would change.